Great Indian invasion of Australia?

India's wealthy, from old money to nouveaux riches IT entrepreneurs, are quietly snapping up hotels and mines Down Under just as Australia embarks on an immigration campaign to attract long-term investment.

The Jindal family, ranked among the world's top 80 richest by Forbes, in May bought two minor stakes, worth a total of A$26 million (US$26.99 million), in Australian iron ore and coal mines through Jindal Steel & Power.

That followed a US$2 billion purchase by Indian self-made billionaire and college-dropout Gautam Adani of a coal mine in the state of Queensland last year.

Image: Naveen Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.